I've Got You Under My Skin
by Sword On Fire
Summary: Inbetween lines of Cole Porter's poem by the same name, Kaoru thinks about Kenshin. PostKyoto, PreJinchuu. KK No smut, no violence, no nothing. Please read and review my first RK fic!


A/N: Whoa. I never thought I'd be posting _actual fic_ on here ever again. ::shrugs:: Whatever. Here it is, my very first RuroKen fan fiction ever! Can't promise it won't be the last, but we'll just have to see about that.

Disclaimer: I own neither Rurouni Kenshin nor Cole Porter's poem _I've Got You Under My Skin_. Please don't sue me, all you'll get is a handful of Hershey's kisses wrappers and some carpet lint.

* * *

_I've got you under my skin._

You wormed your way into my heart from the very first day we met. You saved me from Gohei, bandaged my wound, and made me breakfast. I asked you to stay, half because I didn't want to be alone, half in hopes that I would find some way of repaying your kindness. Giving you room and board was the least I could do.

_I've got you deep in the heart of me._

Now that it's been almost a year, I can't imagine not waking up to your cheerful "_ohayou_, Kaoru-dono!"

_So deep in the heart that you're really a part of me._

When you left me for Kyoto, I nearly died. It was like a part of my very heart had been ripped out and eaten before my eyes. I thought you'd gone away forever, Kenshin! I realized then that I can't live without you.

_I've got you under my skin._

_I'd tried so not to give in._

At first, when I was afraid that you'd pack up and start wandering again at any moment, I tried not to fall in love with you. After all, you hadn't shown any interest in me beyond friendship.  
But you were so kind, so helpful, so protective, that I couldn't help but hope that you'd feel the same way in time.

_I said to myself: this affair will never go well_.

I knew – well, suspected – that one day you'd leave me for the open road. You spent ten years wandering; why would you if you didn't like it?  
But you stayed.

_But why should I try to resist when, baby,  
I know so well I've got you under my skin?_

You stayed, and with each day that passed, with each challenge we bested, I fell deeper and deeper in love.

_I'd sacrifice anything, come what might,  
For the sake of having you near_

If it meant that you'd stay with me forever, and never wander again, I would fight Jin-e for you. If it meant your happiness, I would fight Saitou and Shishio and even Hiko Seijuro! All for you.  
I might die, but if it would make you happy, then I'd do it willingly, even gladly.

_In spite of a warnin' voice that comes in the night  
And repeats, repeats in my ear:  
Don't you know, little fool, you never can win?  
__Use your mentality, wake up to reality._

For the three days that I just lay there after you left for Kyoto, I went over our last moment again and again and again. I just couldn't find a good reason why you'd leave! I thought you were happy. I thought you wanted to stay. I thought you _liked_ staying here with me!  
By the time we got to Kyoto, I had convinced myself that you had left because of me. Even now, even though you've since reassured me, I still sometimes think that I could do more.  
There's a voice that I hear in my head some nights. It says that you're not falling for me because you love Megumi. Because I'm just a sweaty little _tanuki-no-onna_ who can't cook or clean or be ladylike or anything.

_But each time I do, just the thought of you  
Makes me stop before I begin  
_'_Cause I've got you under my skin._

I don't sleep much on those nights.  
But when I wake up and see you in the kitchen, happily making breakfast, all my fears evaporate like mist over the river in the morning sun. You are the light in my world, Kenshin. I don't deserve you at all.

_I would sacrifice anything, come what might  
For the sake of havin' you near_

I hope you're happy here. You certainly seem it, but there's a shadow in your gaze, a slight bitterness to your smile. And a stiffness to your movements, but that's probably due to the wounds from Shishio that still haven't healed.  
Are you happy here, Kenshin?  
I look at you doing the laundry and the dishes and the everything else that needs to be done, and I wonder.  
I want you to be happy. You've been dealt a hard hand by life, and if anyone deserves to be happy, it's you.

_In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night  
And repeats – how it yells in my ear: _

Sometimes, though, I worry that you're still going to pack up and leave me behind. It's foolish, I know – this is home to you now.  
But still I worry.

_Don't you know, little, fool, you never can win?  
Why not use your mentality – step up, wake up to reality? _

I've tried to show you that I can be a better person than I am. I've tried to show you that I love you.  
Yet you never acknowledge me or my efforts.  
Sometimes, I want to toss you and your _sakabatou_ out on your ear.

_But each time I do just the thought of you  
Makes me stop before I begin_

But then you look at me with those big purple eyes, that sweet smile, that utterly innocent look you've got – and the words die in my throat.

'_Cause I've got you under my skin_.

I love you, Kenshin.

_Yes, I've got you under my skin_.

* * *

Translations:  
_ohayhou_: good morning  
_dono_: very respectful "miss", as a servant to his mistress  
_tanuki_: raccoon  
_onna_: woman  
_sakabatou_: Kenshin's reverse-blade sword

A/N: I was trying to be insightful and stuff. Did it work? Please review! Also, much thanks to Heather Logan for pointing out some of the formatting errors!


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